Cardiff 2-1 Norwich: Craig Bellamy becomes the first player to score for SEVEN different Premier League clubs

Head over heels: Kenwyne Jones celebrates in style after scoring (Image: Getty)

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Fortune, they say, favours the brave. And Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will testify to that.

His bold decision to throw on Wilfried Zaha after just 37 minutes lifted Cardiff into a two-minute frenzy that brought them three precious survival points.

Zaha, surplus to requirements at Manchester United this season, moved on loan 24 hours earlier. And, bursting with a point to prove, provided the pace and energy to transform an afternoon that looked destined to end in another defeat.

Instead Solskjaer was able to celebrate his first Premier League victory.

“I brought him on because I felt we needed to change things,” he said. “It gave everyone a lift, the players, the crowd. And maybe Norwich were a little bit frightened of his pace.”

Mind you, you could ­sympathise with Chris Hughton, whose side made the long trek back to Norfolk still wondering how they could have lost a game they bossed for so long.

The manager admitted: “It hurts to lose games like that. There’s frustration all round the dressing room.

“We didn’t deserve to lose. We just gave away two poor goals very quickly in the second half. And that changed the atmosphere of the game. I can’t fault my players because we played well for so much of the game.”

Even Solskjaer admitted: “I almost expected them to score in the latter stages. They had the momentum. But luckily we’ve got one of the best ­goalkeepers in the league. David Marshall has earned a drink off the rest of the lads tonight!”

It all began so promisingly for the Canaries as Hughton had seen his team break through after five minutes.

Bradley ­Johnson’s astute pass set Martin Olsson free on the left and, with Cardiff’s defence in disarray, his low cross was turned in by the unmarked Robert Snodgrass.

With deadline signings Fabio and Kenwyne Jones also in their side, it was a nightmare start for Cardiff.

And they struggled to make any impact before Solskjaer hauled off Peter Whittingham eight minutes before the break, replacing him with Zaha.

It was a bold move and it paid a stunning dividend as Cardiff scored twice in a storming opening to the second half.

Zaha seized on Gary Hooper’s careless pass to send Craig Bellamy clear to poke a shot under John Ruddy after 49 minutes.

Just over a minute later relief around the stadium erupted into ecstacy as Jones blasted them ahead, reacting sharply after his header was blocked by Russell Martin.

Norwich were almost level again after 53 minutes, when Bradley Johnson’s sweetly-struck drive was pushed on to the bar by Marshall.

Hughton threw on all his attacking reserves who laid siege to Marshall’s goal.

The Scottish keeper saved brilliantly from Nathan Redmond before being thankful to Bellamy for hiking Hooper’s header off the line.

Snodgrass came even closer, his header three minutes from time crashing against a post. The final reminder, maybe, that this was just not Norwich’s day.